The steady sway of the vehicle on any other day would have lulled Charlee to sleep. But today was not just any day. Today, she was deep in Panthera National Park on the search for wild tigers. Just the thought of getting up close and personal with the tigers was enough to send her heart racing.

Right now, though, her heart had another reason to almost jump from her chest. Weston was driving the off-road Land Rover that had been outfitted for such an excursion. She still didn’t know what the argument between him and Mr. Yakovich was about. She assumed it had something to do with the sanctuary, but whatever it had been, it was apparent that Weston had won.

Even though her alarm went off way earlier than she would have liked, just knowing that she would be on a month-long journey in the wild with Weston had her dragging a grumbling Malena out of bed so that they would be on time. It wasn’t like she could get dressed up with makeup and heels out in the wild, so the only thing she could do to feel the least bit sexy was leave her hair down. Usually, her thick mess stayed in a bun for a whole trip, but the look in his eyes when they landed on her when they arrived at the trucks let her know she had made the right decision.

Malena was having a light conversation with Dr. Skobo, from the Russian team, in the back seat. Their truck led the way, with the other Land Rover carrying members of another team behind them as Weston expertly navigated the rugged road.

She glanced out the window, loving the view. The plush green lands were achingly beautiful. She rolled the window down and picked up her camera to catch a quick snapshot. She wanted to make sure that she had pictures to document every aspect of their trip. The view of the sun rising over the grassy plains was downright breathtaking. She was able to get some amazing shots, and she couldn’t wait until she got home so that she could get the photos developed.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer before we reach our destination.” Weston’s voice broke through her thoughts. “If you want to sometime, I can show you where you can get some amazing shots.”

“Really?” she asked, turning to him. He nodded his head as he kept his eyes on the narrow dirt road. “I thought the sanctuary didn’t allow humans in it?”

“Well, when your family has donated millions to help fund such a place, you tend to get special treatment.” He chuckled as he glanced at her.

“Oh!” she gasped, her mind focusing on his mention of his families donated millions.

“I’m kidding,” he said at her reaction. “The closest we were allowed was by a helicopter flying above. I’ve flown a chopper over this national park many times, and have practically memorized every beautiful peak and valley of this place.”

She barked out a nervous laugh at the thoughts of being out of her league with him. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. She may not know how to get an affair started, but she was a fast learner.

“So tell me about yourself,” she asked him, wanting to make idle conversation. They had been in the truck for a couple of hours, and by the looks of the GPS, they should be arriving at their destination in less than an hour.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, his lips tilted up in a devious smile.

“Who’s running your business while you’re here?” She turned to him in her seat to secretly watch him. As if sensing her attention, he threw her a smile.

“Well, there are a lot of people who work under me who are great at their jobs, and make mine even easier. I have a fantastic secretary who is holding down the fort and making sure that everyone is staying on task. What about you? Who’s teaching the world-renowned Dr. Charlee Black’s classes while she’s traipsing across the world?”

“Well, I too have a kick ass secretary who has arranged coverage for all of my classes, and will run my office until I return.”

“Ellen is amazing,” Malena chimed in from the back seat. “Charlee wouldn’t know how to put on her shoes without that woman.”

“Good. Trusting people are hard to find,” West murmured with a nod. “What else do you want to know?” He turned his keen eyes toward her.

She had a list of questions, but figured being packed in a car with two other people listening to their conversation was not the best time to really get to know him. So she decided to keep it easy.

“I see you speak Russian. What other languages do you speak?” She smiled, glancing back and catching Malena’s eye, who in turn threw her a wink. Charlee rolled her eyes before turning back to Weston.

“My parents were from Russia. I was born there, but was primarily raised in the States. But I’m also fluent in Spanish, Arabic, and Italian.”

“It’s good to know that you’re fluent in many languages, Mr. Rogavac. But I still don’t understand why you’re on this trip? Everyone here are scientists, trying to ensure the survival of the Amur tigers. What do you get out of this trip?” Dr. Skobo asked from the back seat.

The vehicle jerked to a sudden halt. Charlee would have sworn the temperature in the truck dropped a few degrees by the cold, hard glare that Weston sent the Russian scientist. Her breath caught in her throat at the balls of Dr. Skobo. She turned and met the shocked eyes of Malena.

What the hell was that?

“We’re here,” Weston announced dryly, jerking the gearshift into park.

Charlee glanced around and found them to be literally in the middle of nowhere.

Let the tracking begin.

The group moved through the woods, following West and Luka as they led the way. Before leaving the trucks, West and Luka made sure that all of them had some sort of weapon on them. Even though they were in a national park, it was still considered the wild. He and Luka would be able to pick up on a threat due to their tigers, but he didn’t want to take a chance. Just in case the humans got separated, he wanted to make sure that they were prepared.

West knew that they had to put on a front, as if they had never been there before. It would draw too many questions about how they knew where the tigress was.

West cursed himself when he realized that he had made a mistake in the truck when he offered to take Charlee to a few spots to capture photographs. He couldn’t help the slip. He was captivated by the emotions that graced her face as she took her pictures. The wind blowing in the open window, moving her hair away from her face, displayed her features perfectly. It had him wishing that he had a camera to capture all her different expressions.

He hadn’t actually lied about flying over the national park multiples time. He had. He truly came to know the park over the years by sneaking into it with Luka as their tigers. Not even the Russian officials knew, who were so set on keeping him from the park.

The scientist questioning him about why he was there solidified his suspicions. Something was going on that they didn’t want the top investors to know about. But what?

He stopped to bend down, pretending to study a track. It was the tigress’ paw print, but he had to play the part.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” he said as he stood.

“Wow, you’re good,” Charlee murmured, looking around the dense trees.

“West is the best,” Luka chuckled, slapping him on the back. “He could find a needle in a haystack.”

“I’m not that good,” he objected with a shake of his head. It was the tiger in him. Tigers weren’t known for their sense of smell. His tiger just had a great sense of direction.

“Still, it’s impressive. We’re making great time.” She came to stand beside him as Luka moved on with the others, brushing past them to follow him, leaving them alone. “It certainly would have taken us much longer to find the trail.”

A gentle smile graced his lips as he took her in. She had finally pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. His fingers ached to pull it out so that he could watch it tumble around her shoulders. He ached to see what her hair would look like spread across his pillows back home.

With it being summer, the dense woods were muggy, and everyone was sporting sweat spots on their clothes. She was no different, but she made it work for her. Sweat lined her face, and the heat made her look flushed. His eyes followed her hand as she took out a small hand towel from her pocket. He stepped closer to her, watching her eyes widen as he took the towel from her hand.

He gently reached up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, trailing the towel down her temples and around to her nose to wipe the little drops of moisture that accumulated there. He couldn’t resist leaning in and covering her mouth with his.

His tiger went wild with the first taste of her. His hand cupped her face gently as he angled his head and deepened the kiss. Her tongue didn’t shy away from his as it invited him in farther. A moan escaped her as she leaned in hard against him, crushing her ample breasts to his chest. The kiss turned urgent, and a voice in the back of his mind signaled for him to stop. In the middle of the forest with their group not too far away was not how he wanted to have her.

“We better stop,” he murmured against her lips before pulling away. The scent of her arousal drove his tiger wild. Her eyes opened, and the lust that he saw there made his cock ache even more. “Don’t look at me like that, or you’ll find yourself with your back against a tree and my cock buried deep in your pussy. Fast.”

She gasped at his words and closed her eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers, breathing in her scent. His cat demanded that they take her, but he had to push his animal back down.

“That doesn’t sound too bad, Weston,” she breathed, a smile spreading across her face as her eyes opened.

“Don’t test me, Charlee. And it’s West. I think we’re past the formal names.” He grinned, grabbing her hand. “Let’s catch up with the group before Luka sends back a search party.”

They quickly walked through the brush, catching up with the others. Their hands remained joined, but he refused to let her go. Her smaller hand belonged in his much larger one. He didn’t care what it looked like when they reached the group. She tried to pull her hand away from his, but he tightened his grip on her. His cat didn’t want to let her out of its sight, much less its reach.

The path narrowed, and they all had to walk in a single file line. He directed Charlee to walk ahead of him so that he could pull up the rear. Luka knew the way, but for safety reasons, he wanted to keep his eye on Charlee.

He still couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling from the train. In speaking with Tryndin, he refused the Russian security, not trusting them. His men would do fine and keep everyone safe. Drago was the master of stealth. West knew that he and his men were around them, but they wouldn’t present themselves unless they needed to.

Luka held up a hand, signaling to the group to stop. He turned and his eyes met West’s. They had arrived.

“He’s found it,” West murmured, stepping close to Charlee.

Her eyes flickered to his, and he could see the excitement bubbling inside of her. This was her career, what she lived for. His tiger was pleased that she loved cats as much as she did. Her passion for them was evident in every aspect of her career. West had read all of her journal articles and publications.

They would have to be as silent as they could be. They didn’t want the tigress to pick up on the group. If she did, it would go one of two ways; either she would grab her cubs and run, or she would stand her ground and defend her den.

West knew that they were still far enough to keep a safe distance away from the tigress that she shouldn’t be able to pick up on their scent or hear them. By the looks of the cubs the night before, they were still young enough that the tigress wouldn’t leave the den much. He knew that it wouldn’t be until they were about six months old before they would start their adventures away from the den so that she could teach them how to hunt.

“Let’s tag you a tiger,” he whispered.